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One Lap of America 2010: Stock Car Racing at Nelson Ledges

Day 8
3185 of 3480 miles completed
There have been warnings about Nelson Ledges all week. Warnings about how bumpy the Ohio-based track is, how fast it is, how morning run groups can encounter deer. Built in 1961, this track is one of the oldest and fastest in the U.S. How fast? The quickest recorded lap at the 2-mile long track is a scant 58 seconds.

The speed comes from the back part of the 13-turn track -- most of it can be done flat out. What makes maintaining that speed difficult is the surface. Nelson Ledges received poor upkeep long before its most recent acquisition, in 2005. Since then, part of the track has been repaved, and it now boasts amenities like running water and flushing toilets.But the surface remains the tricky part. It's rough and bumpy, changing mid-corner. Grass is growing in the concrete seams. To be fast, you need to know the correct racing line, but also each bump and nuance in the track and how they affect your car.Mark Blaha and David Rothert get off to a bad start. Midmorning, their supercharged Mustang -- one of the best sounding cars here -- engulfs the paddock with a cloud of smoke. The engine gives out as Blaha pilots the Mustang through turn 10 and up the straight. The cream-colored, cloudy smoke is immense, blinding the field for almost a minute. Blaha emerges unscathed, but the Mustang is toast. Small flames poke out of the exhaust, but are extinguished by the safety crew.As the Mustang is towed to the pits, corner workers find the remnants of its piston ring on the track. Check underneath the car, and you'll find a gaping hole in the rear end of the block. Blaha isn't out, though. A crowdgoer points out that his F-350 tow vehicle can compete in the Exhibition Class at tomorrow's skidpad, the last event of the week. Blaha figures if he can load his Mustang on the F350's trailer, he can circle tomorrow's skidpad with the Mustang in-tow and still accrue points. That's ingenuity.Back on the track, Leh Keen and Doug Wilks' Porsche GT2 takes first place in both events. Again. Ron and Patrick Adee's return in the ZR1 has hurt the GT-R. Today, the Adee's place above Catesby Jones and Jose Callado in morning session, dropping team GT-R 5 points further behind overall from the leading GT2. In the second event, Dan Popp wheels his bright yellow Z06 above the GT-R. Jones and Collado had hoped for rain, but, unless their GT-R finishes 11 places ahead of the GT2 at the skidpad tomorrow, they'll have to celebrate a second place finish.The rest of the field is settling, too. But take a look at the overall results and you'll see a surprising number of stock vehicles not only competing in One Lap, but doing well.Take the 19th overall Porsche Panamera Turbo championed by Bill and Todd Treffert. It's utterly stock, right down to its 4300-pound curb weight. Don't be fooled though, at Tulsa Raceway's drag strip four nights ago, the Panamera laid down a 12.08 pass, which makes it the sixth quickest car here. It's also one of the most luxurious. With the Panamera's endless backseat and trunk space, the Treffert's are comfortable, happy, and well-rested, which are three traits you will seldom find in a One Lap team this far into the week.Right ahead of the Panamera, in 18th, is a BMW X6 M. It's one of the heaviest and tallest vehicles here. It's stock too, outside of a pair of brake pads. But, with 547 horsepower from its twin-turbo V-8, it's no slouch. Despite its 5300-pounds, the SUV ran a 13.00 flat through the quarter mile. The team consists of BMW employees Mike Renner, Thomas Lappin, and Steve Maguire, who are supporting One Lap this year by providing the crew with loaner BMWs. Renner is a driving instructor at BMW's Performance Driving School in South Carolina, and his footwork deserves obvious credit. Last year, Renner took a similarly stock M3 to a tenth overall finish.Two stock Porsches are riding top ten spots. The first is a blue 911 Turbo, which is owned by Hugh Bate and co-driven by Rene von Richthofen. At fourth place, it's the highest placing car that doesn't have a professional driver at its wheel. Bate and Richthofen are sharing driving duties on the track. Bate is very satisfied with the car, in its street ability, track performance, and 500 horsepower. In a straight line, it's the fastest car here: With its twin-clutch PDK slapping gears, the Porsche passed the quarter mile in 10.90 seconds. Problems? None. Modification plans? Not really. Bate says he'd consider some minor suspension work, and wheels and tires. But when you're fourth in a stock car, is there really more that needs to be done?Geoffrey Bond is right behind, in sixth, with a stock Porsche GT3 RS. His problem is horsepower: The white RS with red wheels has "only" 450. Even if it can corner just as fast, the top five cars widen their gap with the RS on the straights. Bond found out late that the factory tire, the Michelin Pilot Cup, doesn't meet One Lap's treadware rules, so he had to remove them.Bond isn't the only one running into issues with stock setups. Greg Hagopian and Enrique Ramirez were graciously loaned a 2011 Mustang V-6 by Ford to support Racing for the Children, which Ramirez founded in 1999. They found that the Mustang has a speed limiter at 112 mph, which does no good at Mid-Ohio where cars see above 150. The team resized the tires, but they also got crafty. They realized that if they programmed the ECU to think the Mustang had smaller wheels, it would effectively raise the speed limiter. Well, how about gearing? After some more coding, the computer thinks the 2.73 rear axle is actually a 3.31. Now the Mustang sees 140 mph no problem.At 43rd overall, they're doing "about as you'd expect," says Ramirez, for a stock V-6 Mustang. Gas mileage has been impressive so far, the two report the digital readout is showing close to 30 mpg in transit.Tomorrow, we wrap One Lap of America up at the Tire Rack's headquarters in South Bend, Indiana. We're on the home stretch of a long week, and we're eager to reach the end.

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